Showing results for "Boat" in Historical Fiction

Brought to you by Penguin. Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023. A deeply moving novel about a boy and his dream, from the prize-winning author of As You Were Jamie O'Neill loves the colour red. He also loves tall trees, patterns, rain that comes with wind, the curvature of many objects, books...

Brought to you by Penguin. A hugely charming, genuinely uplifting story that shows it's never too late for new adventures and unexpected friendship - for fans of HAROLD FRY, DEAR MRS BIRD and THE LIBRARIAN. Meet Eve, who has departed from her thirty-year career to become a Free Spirit; Sally...

Young Julia Fowler's life revolves around Poole Harbour and its lifeboat – her older brother Wilbur is a volunteer crew member, and every blast of the mortar fills her with fear for his safety. When news of the Titanic disaster reaches the town, the close-knit seafaring community is rocked to its core. Julia and her friends – Kathy, Flora, and Betsy – are discovering new opportunities for themselves, stepping up in a world that is slowly beginning to open doors to women. Opposition rises at home and in the community, and tensions grow as the country edges closer to war.

When Daisy, a paintress at the local pottery, looks out across Poole Harbour, waiting for the ‘little ships’ to bring the retreating soldiers home from Dunkirk, she prays her husband will be among them. But Alfie is declared missing, presumed dead, and Daisy must learn to live as a widow. Then a chance encounter with a French soldier throws Daisy’s life even further off course, with heartbreaking consequences that will span generations.

1925 - The Midland Canals. Born on the canals, feisty Beth Dawson, knows danger lurks in the shadows. When she falls victim to a vicious attack and knowing she might be pregnant, she quickly marries a fellow boatman. Her mundane existence is interrupted by the arrival of Anthony Wesley whose mission is to organise the impoverished boatmen for strike action. Anthony makes her feel valued and she wants to help the cause in any way she can. Along the way she makes friends with rebellious Abigail Gatehouse, daughter of the owner of the company. She too is in love with Anthony.

Operation Anglo, 31 August 1942. Beneath the waves, HMS Traveller closes in on the coast of Rhodes in the Eastern Mediterranean. Aboard, eight SBS commandos check their weapons and munitions as they prepare to infiltrate and sabotage two Axis bomber fields. That part of their mission will be a success... but only two of the eight commandos will make it back to the submarine. Ex-Black Watch Sgt Jim Hunter will be one of the lucky ones, but what he will face next will make Operation Anglo look like a cakewalk.

South China coast, 1801. Sold as a child to a floating brothel, twenty-six-year-old Yang has finally bought her freedom, only to be kidnapped by a brutal pirate gang and forced to marry their leader. Dragged through stormy seas and lawless bandit havens, Yang must stay scrappy to survive. She embeds herself in the dark business of piracy, carving out her role against the resistance of powerful pirate leaders and Cheung Po Tsai, her husband's flamboyant male concubine.

Liverpool 1940. Alice King stands on the deck of SS Carlisle, waiting to escort a group of children to Canada as overseas evacuees. She is finally doing her bit for the war. In London, as the Blitz bombs rain down and the threat of German invasion looms, Lily Nicholls anxiously counts the days for news of her son and daughter’s safe arrival.

Wales, 1883: Young Ruth Owen, a talented musician with a scholarship to a prestigious music school, has a sparkling career ahead of her. But after a run-in with her mysterious tutor, she flees to London, leaving everything and everyone behind. Fourteen years later, Ruth, now married with two children, finds herself struggling for money and a place to live. Left with no other option, they decide to return to Wales and live on a canal boat. Life on the canals may seem idyllic, but what troubles await her return? And can the past ever truly be forgotten?

When Sophie Weiss boards the SS St Louis, she has no reason to stay in Germany. The Nazis have taken everything from her, and her only hope is escape. But when she meets fellow Jewish refugees Rosa, Hannah and Rachel on board, the friendship they form gives Sophie hope that there can be happiness in her future, after all.

In the summer of 1914, the Empress Alexandra, a magnificent ocean liner, suffers a mysterious explosion on its voyage from London to New York City. On board are Henry Winter, a rich banker, and his young new wife, Grace. Somehow, Henry manages to secure a place in a lifeboat for Grace. But the survivors quickly realize it is over capacity and could sink at any moment. For any to live, some must die. As the castaways battle the elements, and one another, Grace watches and waits.

By the winner of The Journey Prize, and inspired by a real incident, The Boat People is a gripping and morally complex novel about a group of refugees who survive a perilous ocean voyage to reach Canada – only to face the threat of deportation and accusations of terrorism in their new land...

James Sallis meets Mindhunter in this stylish and atmospheric noir set in small town Iowa in the 1960s, a midcentury heartland gothic with abounding twists and a feverish conclusion. Local outcast Rigby Sellers lives in squalor on a dilapidated houseboat moored on the Mississippi River. With...

Murder's a bad stroke of luck! River Thames boat races between the London University colleges are an popular events, and Mrs. Ginger Reed is excited to attend for the first time, especially since the son of a good friend of her new husband, Chief Inspector Basil Reed, is racing. When a very unusual murder presents itself at the boat club, Lady Gold’s Investigations is hired to take on the case. Ginger’s determined to solve the mystery before someone else dies, but can she manage it without ruining another pair of Italian leather T-strap shoes?

April 1912: Runaway aristocrats Poppy and Daisy Melville sign on as stewardesses for the Titanic’s maiden voyage. After their harrowing rescue by the Carpathia, they are forbidden from disembarking in New York and sent back to England with the other survivors of the Titanic’s crew.

Canot Western, un bar devenu mythique parce qu’au cœur de la culture western pendant plus de trente ans, en mettant en vedette des artistes comme Marcel Martel, la famille Daraîche, Roger Miron, Marie Lord, John Starr, Lévis Bouliane, Paul Brunelle, Renée Martel. Un bar mythique, aussi parce que la petite Céline Dion y fait ses débuts les dimanches après-midi après les concours d’amateurs. Et mythique enfin, peut-être, parce que le bar appartient au frère d’un ministre qui a marqué l’histoire du Québec: Camille Laurin.

Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn and Donna Douglas, a saga full of the romance and drama of World War II from bestselling author Margaret Mayhew. READERS ARE LOVING THE BOAT GIRLS! "I started reading this book last night and I absolutely devoured it, to the point I didn't go to bed until 6am. I...

1941. After the death of her beloved mother, nineteen-year-old Romilly Brooks impulsively accepts a job as a nanny, accompanying eight-year-old Freddie and his grandmother on a sea voyage from war-torn London to the safety of New York. From the first, Romilly is entranced by the opulent ocean liner… if only she could put the idea of German U-boats circling beneath the waves out of her mind.

A relaxing cruise down the Mississippi on the Miss Delta Belle steamboat turns to tragedy when celebrity Delilah Dove falls from the deck and is swallowed by the river faster than you can say "man overboard"! It’s touted as a tragic accident, but guests Miss Nora Marsh and her wily great-aunt Julia know a murder when they see one. Can they get justice for Delilah and crack the case without alerting the murderer to their suspicions?

North Atlantic Ocean, 1942. Fifteen-year-old Connie is leaving war-torn England for the safer shores of America, looking after a nine-year old orphan boy with sad blue eyes. But the ocean is rife with Nazi vessels. And when their boat is torpedoed, in the fear and chaos Connie can’t stop thinking about handsome Jack, who stayed behind in London. Will the orphans survive, and will Connie ever be reunited with her first love? Back in London, 16-year-old Jack desperately misses Connie, his brave, kind friend, after their tearful goodbye when her ship set sail.